Irish singer and drag performer Daniel Carroll, better known by his stage name Danny La Rue, was BOTD in 1927. Born in Cork, his family emigrated to England when he was six, initially settling in London and moving to Kennford in Devon after their home was destroyed during World War Two. He developed an early interest in theatre, playing a convincing heroine in a school production of Shakespeare‘s Romeo and Juliet. After leaving school, he served in the Royal Navy, appearing in drag in a naval touring show. After seeing him perform while touring in Singapore, the actor John Gielgud advised him to consider a stage career. Returning to London in 1947, he worked as a department store window dresser and toured with an all-male musical revue for four years. In 1954, he began appearing in cabaret acts as a female impersonator, or “a comic in a frock” as he preferred to be called. Avoiding grotesque parodies of women, he served up glamorous impressions of Hollywood stars Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Elizabeth Taylor, eventually opening his own nightclub and appearing in West End revues. By the 1960s, he was one of Britain’s highest-paid entertainers, appearing frequently on television at a time when homosexuality was still illegal, and starring in lavish Christmas pantomime shows. His celebrity fans included Garland, Noël Coward and Bob Hope, who called him “the most glamorous woman in the world”. He spent his earnings renovating country houses, though a series of poor investments left him bankrupt by the early 1980s. Undaunted, he starred in a revival of the musical Hello, Dolly!, becoming the first man to take a leading role in a major West End show. Discreetly gay, La Rue lived with his manager and long-term partner Jack Hanson from 1947 until Hanson’s death in 1984. He then formed a relationship with Australian pianist Wayne King, who died in 2000 of an AIDS-related illness. In King’s memory, La Rue raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for HIV/AIDS charities, regularly visiting hospitals and hospices. In 2002, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services to charity, bestowed by another old queen – Elizabeth II – who was a long-time fan. He died in 2009, aged 81.